Very 1st draft of my dream home

[PeterW]

27 minutes ago, Youngredders said:

That would be great please. I obviously need all the help I can get. 

 

I intend to to have the kitchen on ground floor with large bi fold doors and the same arrangement upstairs onto a balcony. 

 

Be careful with that logic as you need to understand how you will use the house ! Running up and down stairs between two rooms that are used a lot will get tiring very quickly. 

 

@newhome has a very nice layout - a large upstairs landing space that has views !

[Crofter]

I hope we don't come across as too negative- everyone is sincerely trying to help. Building your own home is usually the biggest and most expensive project that anyone ever undertakes, and it's vital to get it right. 

I went through eight different layout variations before I was happy, and half way through the build changed it for the ninth and final version. This was because I had been spending a lot of time in the shell of the build and had come to appreciate how the space and the light actually worked.

 

If you are at such an early stage that there is no plot, no known planning conditions, and no other factors to work with, it's almost impossible to design a good house, because you are guessing at too many variables. However it could be worth sketching out a hypothetical design for budget purposes, and it's certainly worth thinking about construction methods and other technical aspects.

 

Edit to add: sorry I missed that you do have the plot already. So your next step needs to be spending several evenings wading through your local council planning website to see what they are likely to approve in your area. You can get sone great ideas this way, it becomes a bit addictive!

[billt]

1 hour ago, PeterW said:

Running up and down stairs between two rooms that are used a lot will get tiring very quickly.

 

Not necessarily! Our house is on 3 floors, kitchen and dining room on the lower floor (with another room down 2 steps containing fridge, freezer, washing machine and coffee machine), middle floor has living room, enormous useless hall and shower room, top floor has bedrooms and bathroom. 2 of the bedrooms are used as workrooms, so all 3 floors are used throughout the day.

 

The stairs simply aren't an issue. This is partly due to habituation (we've lived here for 28 years) but also because of the layout of the floors. They are approximately square, 9M on a side, the stairs are in the centre of the house, are straight and reasonably wide. Most of the time we effectively unaware of the stairs.

 

Of course, they help keep you fit as well. Obviously, if you have mobility problems, stairs aren't a good idea, but I don't see much of a problem with split level living for fairly healthy, young people.

[Mr Punter]

14 hours ago, billt said:

The stairs simply aren't an issue.

 

We are in a 4 storey house, with the main living / kitchen on the top floor.  The staircases are fairly steep / narrow with winders.  Not a problem and it keeps you fit!  We put in a goods lift to get food upstairs / rubbish back down.

[Youngredders]

20 hours ago, ProDave said:

Okay, if this is West coast of Scotland, you won't be allowed 2 storey. 1 3/4 at most, i.e. rooms at least partially in the roof.

 

A 200 square metre footprint on a 750 square metre plot sounds too big, especially when you talk of a detached garage etc.  I hope you have mains drainage available otherwise you are going to struggle.

 

Utility and storage is way too thin. The kitchen / diner is too thin as well for its width.

 

If the front faces West, and has the view, then I would make half of that the kitchen (with dining facing the back / east) and then you can have a nice big living room triple aspect east, south and west making the most of the sun and the views.

 

Your location would help then we know which building regs and which local vernacular to follow and a plot layout with respect to neighbours as well etc.

Hi @ProDave thanks for the great advice. The location is Whitehaven, Cumbria, England, on the west coast of Whitehaven.

[ProDave]

24 minutes ago, Youngredders said:

Hi @ProDave thanks for the great advice. The location is Whitehaven, Cumbria, England, on the west coast of Whitehaven.

Okay so it's English building regs and whatever the local vernacular is which may well mean 2 storey is okay.

[JK Ro]

Agreed with some of the others get an architect.

 

Cost wise they're approximately 10% of the build cost but they save you that money many times over.

 

Try out the link.

 

Please PM for more info. 

 

Edited May 11, 2018 by Nickfromwales
No commercial links please, especially for new members without a substantial history of contributing

[jack]

32 minutes ago, JK Ro said:

Cost wise they're approximately 10% of the build cost but they save you that money many times over.

 

I think it's fair to say that some architects will save you money, but that isn't the universal experience of people who've used them.

 

I say that as someone who used, and was very happy with, a local architect for our self-build (well, after we fired the first one who, it turns out, had no idea about planning considerations and wasn't actually able to design houses!)

[daiking]

3 hours ago, JK Ro said:

Agreed with some of the others get an architect.

 

Cost wise they're approximately 10% of the build cost but they save you that money many times over.

 

Try out the link.

 

Please PM for more info. 

 

 

Expelliarmus.